10 Most Important Idioms in French

Idioms are a vital part of any language, and French is no different. We often underestimate the number of idioms we use day-to-day, and getting the hang of them is going to be vital in mastering a language.

Not sure what an idiom is? Think of expressions in English such as “by the skin of your teeth” or “having the blues”. These phrases have established meanings that we all understand, even if the words themselves do not directly correlate to the meaning.

Once you’ve learnt enough French for basic communication, idioms are the next step to elevating your French to upper-intermediate and eventual fluency. Idioms are so important to learn because they are used constantly, and their meanings often cannot be guessed, even in context.

Here are some of the most common French idioms that you might hear in everyday conversation that are essential to know. How many have you heard already?

1. Jeter un coup d’oeil - This is a very common expression, and the French equivalent of the English phrase “to take a look”.

4. Avoir la gueule de bois - An appropriate follow-up to when “un verre” becomes too many, this is the French term for being hungover. Though the term, literally meaning “a mouth of wood”, suggests a dry mouth, which can certainly be a symptom of being hungover, avoir la gueule de bois is used to denote the overall experience of a hangover, encompassing all undesirable physical manifestations.

5. Faire gaffe - often used in the imperative - this strange little expression means to be careful, or watch out. This is strange because the literal meaning suggests the opposite, as a “gaffe” is a blunder, or mistake, so “faire une gaffe” would mean to make a mistake. However, when the expression is used without the article “une”, its meaning changes to one of being cautious.

Example: “Faut faire gaffe, hein!” - “You’d better be careful!”

6. Etre crevé - This means to be exhausted. The verb crever, which means literally to die, can also be used to describe an extreme state of something, when this is specified (see examples below), but when used alone with être, it means extremely tired.